Obituaries: Clark W. AlbrechtNov. 8, 1952 – May 12, 2010Clark W. Albrecht, 57, of John Day, died May 12, 2010, at his home. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

Mr. Albrecht was born Nov. 8, 1952, in Glendive, Mont., to Jacob and Mildred Albrecht. He was raised on a wheat farm in eastern Montana; his family also operated a coal mine.

He attended a one-room schoolhouse in Bloomfield, Mont., until grade 5. After his parents retired from farming in 1964, they moved to Corvallis, Mont. There he met Dave Barntish and the two became lifelong friends.

In 1971, he graduated from Corvallis (Mont.) High School, and in 1974, graduated with an associates degree in electronics from the University of Montana, College of Technology.

He worked as an electronics technician in San Jose, Calif.; Denver, and Raleigh, N.C.

He moved to Carlin, Nev., where he lived in the community known as Meta Tantay, started by Rolling Thunder, a Cherokee medicine man. While there, he embraced many Native American traditions and worked as a teacher.

In 1984 he moved to John Day, where he ran a home-based electronics repair service for a few years.

He liked traveling and going into the hills during the summer. He also enjoyed model railroading and had an artistic flair, receiving a blue ribbon at the Grant County Fair for his copper wire sculpture.

In spite of an accident at an early age which confined him to a wheelchair, his positive attitude was an inspiration to his friends.

Survivors include his two sisters, Wanda Bethel of Raleigh and Beth Conner of Harrison, Ark.; nieces, Derinda Lyons of California and Amy Bethel of Wisconsin; nephews, Mark and Dale Conner of California; his friends of many years, David and Karen Barntish, and Dale and Katie Cornell, of John Day; and special friend, Jolene Meadows of Pendleton.